A Shattered Dream
by chanchi76
Summary: Retsu Unohana has been taught to hate the traitor of the Unohana Family.  But as she meets this mysterious woman, she has to decide whether or not to continue to hate or to move on and set her past aside.


**Okay, here's one of the new stories that I decided to put up to match one of my friend's oneshots. This is mostly a prologue before my other Fanfic that hasn't been put up yet. But anyway, I thought of this while I was writing up the outline for my new Bleach Fanfic. So those who like oneshots with no love relationships (except for sibling love), then you might like this. So read on!**

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**A Scattered Dream**

I entered the Seireitei as the 4th seat in the 4th Division. I was new to the hardworking Divisions in the Soul Society. Everyone followed the orders of the Captain, in which this case, we had none.

I found her…the woman that I was going to surpass…the Captain of the 10th Division. I hated her when I stepped into my Division. I hated her everyday when I dressed and when I worked on the tasks assigned to me as the fourth seat. I hated her every minute of my early life. I was raised hating her, since she was the 'cause' of our family's decline down from the noble families in Soul Society.

I had never actually met her, but from what I was told, she was a cruel woman. A woman with a zanpaku-tô that was covered in blood from the Unohana household. Her smile and sweet voice was a mask that hid her true identity—a traitor.

I never knew how wrong I really was.

OoOoOoOoOo

I still hadn't met her, even though I had ascended to the Captain rank of the 4th Division. I believed that I had surpassed her, even though deep within my heart I knew this was not so.

During the first few Captain Meetings that I had participated in, she had no shown up. The 10th Division, 5th seat and up were missing on a trip to the Real World. The 10th Division was being watched over by Jûshirô Ukitake, the Captain of the 13th Division.

It became one of my main hobbies as I waited for her—pacing near the Gate to the Real world. After a few weeks passed and still no sign, I believed that she would never return. I ordered my 3rd seat and 4th seat to pay attention and wait for her return before reporting to me immediately.

Luckily, they obeyed their orders well, and a few days later came rushing back to me with news.

The Captain of the 10th Division had returned to Soul Society. She had brought back information about the Real World, drinks for Kyoraku-taicho, and food for Ukitake-taicho. I still didn't understand their relationship.

How could they be friends with a traitor?

OoOoOoOo

I entered the 10th Division building, fully intent on getting the answers that I wanted. Her reasons for betraying the Unohana Family had to be known.

When I entered, I expected nothing to see but her sly mask. But it seemed as if she had noticed me coming. There was one of her seated officers sitting at her desk working paperwork. She was nowhere in sight.

"I wish to speak to the Captain of the 10th Company," I said boldly. If this was her Assistant Captain, then she should lead me to her Captain immediately.

"Tatsumara-Taicho said you'd come," she said instead. Tatsumara? Was that her name? I had never heard her name before, only her picture was available to me.

The Assistant Captain lifted her head and smiled at me. I could tell she had long black hair, very similar in length to mine. She had a smug smile on her face, her dark blue eyes slightly narrowed. She had placed her brush on the desk and was now looking at me with interest.

"I am the Captain of the 4th Division, Retsu Unohana," I told her.

"Yeah, Shiro-kun told me."

Shiro-kun? I only suspected that she was referring to Ukitake-san. But why would an Assistant Captain be familiar with the Captain of the 13th Division? So familiar that she used nicknames for him?

"You should show respect to your Captains," I reminded her kindly. Her smile widened and her teeth started to show. She was testing my patience at the moment. This doesn't happen often, not many people can push me past this level of patience, but this was about the woman that I despised for most of my life.

"I have no need to, it's fun to annoy them with these names," she raised her eyebrow teasingly. "What should I call you, Retsu?"

My patience was definitely being tested at this point. I sternly looked her straight in the eye.

"Assistant Captains shouldn't be too familiar with the Captains of the Gotei 13," I scolded her. She continued to smile, which angered me even more.

"Who said I was an Assistant Captain?" she asked. She reached a hand behind her and pulled something off the back of her chair. She stood up and swung a white robe over her shoulders. The white robe had the symbol of the 10th Division in a rhombus.

She walked over to me, I couldn't help noticing the way she walked, her posture. She moved with grace, even putting my mother, the most graceful in the Unohana household, to shame. Her hair was much longer than I thought. If her ponytail wasn't slung over her shoulder, it would have touched the floor.

All at once, I found myself wondering why I had hated this woman in the first place. How could I have hated her in the first place? She wasn't one to be hated; she was one to be admired.

"Retsu Unohana. The Captain of the 4th Division. I'm sorry that I wasn't able to come to the celebration of your captaincy. I was busy charting something for the Captain-Commander in the Real World."

I bowed by head, embarrassed. I had barged into her Division without permission for warning, although she had known all the time who I was and when I was going to come to her.

"You hate me don't you?" I looked up surprised.

"N-no. I couldn't—"

"Don't worry, for several years, I met several of the Unohana household. They all claimed their hatred for me," she placed her hand on my head. It was comforting, her hand wasn't heavy or strong and rough, it was soft and gentle, a reassuring touch.

"I-I'm sorry," it didn't matter that I was a Captain now; I still bowed my head in front of her. I would forevermore bow in front of her, to make up for my hatred of this woman who did no wrong to me.

"I'd expect you were. Why else would you bow to me with an embarrassed face?" I looked up again. Once again, she surprised me with her unique personality.

"Don't bow down to me, Retsu. You shouldn't bow to me as if I'm higher rank than you." The hand was lifted and she bent down to my level to try to look me in the eye.

"Gomen. Ane-san." I replied respectfully.

"No. Call me, Ane-chan, Onee-chan, Onee-san, or Nee-sama if you wish, although I don't prefer the last one." She placed her hands on her hips and looked at me.

"What?" I was surprised. She was taking this all too easily. And why was she giving herself these names?

"My name is Tatsumara Unohana." She grinned. I raised my eyebrows in surprise. My...sister? The one who supposedly died a few years ago? I was the youngest daughter in the Unohana Family, I had never met my older sister. But as I stood looking at her now, I realized that we didn't look too different from each other. Then I made my choice...

"Nee…sama." She frowned slightly, but waved that off quickly, sighing.

"I didn't want to be referred to as that, but if you want you can." I smiled slightly, my cheeks turned pink.

OoOoOoOo

It's been several years since I met Nee-sama. I don't care that I sound stupid and childish when I say this, I owe something to her, and I have to repay her somehow.

I said this before, and I say it often—Now I always wonder why I hated her in the first place. There was nothing to hate. Nothing at all, just horrid family ties.

My parents could live hating Nee-sama, it's not like it mattered much to me anymore. She stepped out of the family traditions and became a Captain of one of the fighting Divisions in the Seireitei.

I have no desire to follow her out of the 4th Division. My Zanpaku-tô is used chiefly for healing and it isn't much help out on a battlefield.

I feel free now. It's as if Nee-sama was the last key I needed to completely free myself from all these different bindings. The first key had been entering the Shinigami Academy for training.

Now I'm glad I made that choice. I'm glad that my parents ordered my to surpass Nee-Sama. If they didn't, I would have never met her like this…never met her in the way we did that day.

Everything's so clear now. What I have to do. She opened my eyes that were continuously blocked by rumors. It's like I was living in a dream…

But that dream is shattered now…and I'm glad.

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**There, that's the end of the oneshot that I've been working on for about 2 days because of school and its homework. This isn't one of my best stories, but it's pretty good in the way that I made it and time-wise.**

**Please don't burn me down _too_ hard…yes I already know that it doesn't really sound like something that Retsu Unohana would say, but remember, this is a fanfic. So don't burn me on that fact, anything else go ahead.**

**The Sequel to this story is _The Flight of the Dragon._**

**Please Review :D!**

**edited 09-17-07**


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